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The Stephen A. Wilson Scholarship

In honor of our brother Steve, The James and Genevieve Wilson Foundation is pleased to announce the formation of an annual scholarship to fund an older child or adult with Autism to pursue athletic endeavors. The funds for this effort will be separate from others that are raised by the foundation. The initial scholarship will be funded by Steve’s daughter Laureen in honor of her father.

Jim and Betty’s nine children were very involved in athletics from an early age through and sometimes beyond college. Our family is imbued with a competitive spirit. We believe that participation in sports manifests itself in achievement in other aspects of life.

How to Apply

If you want to apply for the Steve Wilson scholarship, please submit the application to us at JGWilsonfoundation@gmail.com

Use the application for either individuals or an organization and reference the Steve Wilson Scholarship.

APPLY NOW

PAST RECIPIENTS

Our Brother Steve
12/27/53-6/28/95

Stephen Alan Wilson was a gift to those who knew him. A loving son, brother, father and husband, he was taken from us too soon in a tragic auto accident in 1995 at the age of 42.

Steve was quiet and thoughtful, loved the outdoors, was great at trivia and was a faithful, hardworking man. After his wife Carol, his daughter Laureen and his family, the thing Steve loved the most was competing in sports.

Steve was the 3rd of our family’s 9 children. He was also the middle child of the 6 boys born in a row. Steve was the glue in that group of 6. He pushed to succeed like the older boys and was encouraging and supportive of his younger brothers. Most of the time, he was the first pick when one of the numerous family sporting events got organized.

Steve was born in Denver and after living his formative years in NJ, returned to Colorado for college. He missed the mountains and enjoyed connecting with his family roots in the Eastern part of the state at our grandparents’ ranch. He met Carol in college at a trivia competition, married and settled in Denver to raise their daughter Laureen.

Here are a few of his athletic achievements:

He was the State Prep Mile champion in NJ during high school and went on to have distinguished career at the University of Colorado where he was part of a team that took 2nd place at the 1974 NCAA indoor track championship.
He qualified for the Boston Marathon by running a 2:57:00 time after limited training. He ran the race at altitude just to make it more challenging.
He continuously bested his brothers in sports they played competitively through college. For example, after not playing organized baseball since the age of 11, Steve was asked to participate in a Morris County Majors baseball game against guys who played in college. He hit a triple and helped his team to win the game.
On a whim he decided to take up ice hockey a couple of years before his death and was succeeding against seasoned players in adult leagues around Denver.

Steve’s quiet intensity inspired his teammates and earned him the respect of his coaches and competitors. He lived life with integrity and dignity and would be honored to have his name associated with a Foundation in memory of his parents.

Scholarship Recipients

Omaries Rivera Perez via Specially Fit

In our search for the first recipient of the Stephen Wilson athletic scholarship we connected with Specially Fit. They introduced us to Omaries who is a Special Olympian that competes in track and field. Omaries was
training for the National competition that was held in June at the ESPN sports complex in Orlando and wanted to improve her time in the 400 meter and her distance in the shot put. We provided funds for a coach to work one-on-one with her.

In June this 2022 Omaries competed with Team Florida and brought home 3 medals. She won silver in the 400 meter, silver in the shotput and a bronze in her first time running the 400 meter relay (competing against both men and women). The joy on her face in the pictures sent to us by her parents and supporters are priceless. We are humbled to be a part of her journey and know that our brother for whom the scholarship is named would be proud.